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Graduates of for-profit colleges like University of Phoenix are less likely to get a job than their traditional school counterparts. And even if they get a job, they don't make as much money.

The industry is booming despite public reservations about the institutions' effectiveness, according to a study by Kevin Lang and Russel Weinstein at Boston University. They say that students gain nothing from going to a for-profit institution:

There are large, statistically significant, positive effects of obtaining certificates/degrees from a public or not-for-profit institution among those starting in associates degree programs. We find no evidence that students gain from obtaining any certificate or degree from a for-profit institution.

And because students at these colleges don't make enough to support themselves, they're much more likely to default on loans:

Students at for-profits account for nearly half of all student loan defaults but only about 12 percent of post- secondary students. Between 2000 and 2010, the private sector share of federal student aid money grew from $4.6 billion to more than $26 billion, about one quarter of all federal student grants and loans.